An airline or other large commercial or non-commercial enterprise typically requires the coordinated efforts of many different functional groups. Generally, each of the different groups is responsible for managing a different part of the enterprise. A typical airline, for example, can include different functional groups for managing flight operations, aircraft maintenance, passenger services, and other aspects of the business necessary for day-to-day operations. The efficiency with which these different functional groups cooperate to run the airline can have a direct effect on the profitability and, ultimately, the success of the airline in a competitive marketplace.
Conventional methods for modeling the complex operations of airlines and other large enterprises typically include process flow charts and other types of schematic diagrams that attempt to illustrate the inter-workings of the different functional groups. Although these methods may illustrate some functional relationships at a relatively high level, they are of limited value in analyzing process interactions because they typically lack detailed information about the various attributes (e.g., cost, time, etc.) associated with each process. Further, these methods also tend to lack a detailed description of the routing and sequencing of information flows between the different functional groups. As a result, such methods offer little assistance in identifying problem areas and assessing the impact of changes to a particular process.
One problem facing companies that produce and market such products and services is how to justify the investment in the product or service to the airline operator. That is, how best to make the business case to the potential customer. A typical marketing approach is to “demo” the product or service using a fictitious business model. The downside of this approach, however, is that the fictitious model may or may not be a realistic simulation of the actual airline. As a result, the airline operator may have a hard time visualizing and understanding the benefits of the product or service, and may remain unconvinced of the value to their airline.
Proving the value of goods and services is particularly difficult where the business case depends on an accurate measurement of the cost of disruptions in airline service. In the past, the cost of service disruptions has been measured using “average” or anecdotally obtained numbers from industry sources by applying them as though costs have a uniform impact over time. Measurement was based on a calculation of the number of disruption events multiplied by the cost per event, or alternatively, the total delay minutes multiplied by a flat rate per minute of service disruption. Although these approaches yield results that are useful when comparing one airline to another, they are usually not accurate when assessing the absolute cost of disruptions for a particular airline. As a result, when the previous techniques are used to assess the impact of service disruptions for a particular airline, the results are either understated or overstated. From a marketing perspective, overstatement can result in the vendor of the proposed goods and services losing credibility with the customer. Understatement may result in reducing the customer's perceived value of the goods and services being offered, or the inability of the vendor to close a sale of a solution that would substantially improve operations and reduce service disruptions.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of determining the cost of service disruptions, which overcomes the deficiencies discussed above. The present invention is directed toward satisfying this need.